I thought I found a small lead button, but now I'm not sure .....

[Ed SW Fla]

I've been playing around with the photos I took on the UK trip. Now getting around to closely examining photos of the not too exciting, but still neat stuff.

Its always fun to find old buttons and all of us found a bunch of them. Many with the attachment loop still unbroken / not bent ... ready to be used once again. One of the buttons I found was made of lead.

At least I thought it was a button until I noticed the back side attachment loop is offset, not centered. Even back in Roman times, they had the skill to center what needed to be centered.

Wouldn't an offset attachment point make the button not secure the fabric as well as a centered attachment point? Pardon the metric measurement but that's what you get in the UK when asking for a ruler to measure something .... the USA size is right at 7/16" edge to edge.
[attachment 209767 medsealattachmentedit.jpg] [attachment 209768 medievalsealedit.jpg]
I found a web site that shows all kinds and types of seals when I was researching the "God Speed The Plough" seal. Here is both sides of what they describe as "A lead Medieval personal seal" from the 1200's.
[attachment 209769 personalleadsealback.jpg] [attachment 209770 personalleadseal.jpg]
Any of you button experts have an opinion on this ..... is it a way cool lead button or even cooler personal seal?

 

[Craig in Alabama]

n/t

 

[Ed SW Fla]

n/t

 

[therick]

n/t

 

[Magyar]

n/t

 

[Elton]

n/t

 

[Jim West Pa]

n/t

 

[Jim West Pa]

n/t

 

[Craig in Alabama]

n/t

 

[Jim West Pa]

n/t

 

[Ed SW Fla]

.... it can be anything I want to call it! There ain't too many Medieval finds experts here in SW Florida!

At the very least, it's a way old button!

 

[Ed SW Fla]

.... check out this vesica (SP?) seal I found in 2003. At the bottom of the Fleur De Leis design, on the top side of the seal, you can see the crushed attachment point where the seal was suspended by a chain, ribbon, rawhide rope, etc.

By the way this lead seal was used in the 1200's by a woman named Matilda Blum or Blume. It is one of my better finds. It was actually partially sticking out of the fields surface and my detector beeped on it as the coil passed near it.
[attachment 209868 sealedited72.jpg]

 

[charlie (ky)]

n/t

 

[Craig in Alabama]

n/t

 

[scubadetector]

Just had to throw that in!!

very nice find and I also do not think its a button.

 

[2000nkb]

I'm guessin' it's a sun dial.

 

[Jim West Pa]

" as he started to beatin on my favorite baby seal with a lead filled snow shoe"